Pictures, sound, and folders

Lives in: your project folder

The script names people and places. Those names only work if the files exist. The simplest game still needs pictures (and usually a little sound) on disk — not only script.txt.

This page is the map. Deeper character packs come under Characters; props under The stage.

A tiny project that can run

my-game/
  game.json                 required — name and defaults
  story/
    script.txt              your play
  characters/
    hana/
      hana.png              default look
      hana_happy.png        optional expression
  backgrounds/
    street.jpg              a place
  audio/                    optional at first
    bgm/
    sfx/
  themes/
    default.json            dialogue-box look (copy from an example)
  screens.json              title / pause (copy from an example)

Copy examples/example-00-boilerplate or example-01-hello-vn and replace pictures — you do not need to invent game.json from scratch on day one.

Characters = folders of pictures

On disk	In the script
Folder `characters/hana/`	Speaker `HANA:` and direction `[hana left]`
`hana.png` (or `hana_default.png`)	Default look
`hana_happy.png`	`HANA [happy]:` or `[hana happy left]`

Rules that matter:

One folder per character id — folder name is the id (hana), case-insensitive in the script.
File name = id or id_expression, plus an image extension.
You do not need a JSON pack for a first game. One PNG per expression is enough.
Layered packs (blinking, talking mouths) are optional later — Characters, Reusing settings.

People often call these “sprites.” In VN-Mikro, character pictures live under characters/. The separate sprites/ folder is for props and gadgets on top of the scene — optional; skip it until you need a lamp, phone overlay, or HUD widget.

Places (background pictures)

On disk	In the script
`backgrounds/street.jpg`	`[bg street]` or `[bg street fade 0.5]`

Write the name without the extension. Formats: .png, .jpg / .jpeg, .webp, .svg.

Sound (when you want it)

On disk	In the script / settings
`audio/bgm/theme.ogg`	`[bgm theme]`
`audio/sfx/door.mp3`	`[sfx door]`
same `sfx/` folder	typing beeps and button clicks in `game.json`

Formats: .ogg or .mp3. Name without extension in commands.

Title music can also be set once in game.json — Music and sounds by default.

Formats at a glance

Kind	Folder	Formats	Named in script as
Character	`characters/<id>/`	`.png` `.jpg` `.jpeg` `.webp` `.svg`	`id` / expression
Place	`backgrounds/`	`.png` `.jpg` `.jpeg` `.webp` `.svg`	`[bg name]`
Music	`audio/bgm/`	`.ogg` `.mp3`	`[bgm name]`
Sound effect	`audio/sfx/`	`.ogg` `.mp3`	`[sfx name]`

What can wait

Folder / file	When you need it
`sprites/`	Props, meters, clickable objects — Sprites and objects
`fonts/`, richer `themes/`	Custom look — Look and menus
Character `*.json` packs	Layered art, drive — Characters
`shaders/`, `animations/`	Polish
`extensions/`	Custom extension packs — Native extensions
Extra story packs	Early multi-scripting — In development

Your first ten minutes if you have not run an example yet · otherwise What a script is

VN-Mikro 0.1.0